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Continued from part 8
Jim of Stoughton WI (06/08/07)
In response to your negative article and just to relate my experience with my 2002 Prius, bought new and now with 48K miles on odometer, yes, there have been a few items repaired under warranty. But, what car doesn't get some of those? And, I firmly believe this has been the best car I have ever owned, and there have been many of those. It's a delight to drive, and my average MPG is around 48 in warm weather and 40-42 during wintertime. I very much love my little Prius. It's a great car with a wonderful design and ingenious technology. Toyota has been very supportive to address any concerns I have ever had with my car.
Kimberly of Winfield AL (06/08/07)
I put a five hundred dollar deposit down for the to order prius. He emailed me at 7pm and said they might have found a prius for me but they would have to see if they could take the toyoguard and floor mats off. He stated he would call me the next day around lunch and tell me if they could get it. I emailed him that night and said do not order the car. I called him early the next day and left a message do not order the car. He called me and said he was keeping my 500.00 because I had signed the paper and given him my debit card number. I asked him if he had told his manager and they agreed to keep my money even though they had not ordered the car and he said, yes.
.
Zachary of Homeland CA (06/07/07)
Giving into all the hype, when I went looking for a new car, I decided to go with the money-saving, eco-friendly Prius. I bought it used, 3 years ago. It had 72,000 miles on it, and ran great. For the first year that is. When it came time for the 100,000 mile tuneup, that cost me nearly $700. 6 months later, the computer system fails, along with a transmission leak, and fuel pump replacement. Costing me another $2600.
10 months after that, the car starts acting up again, and I take it down and get it diagnosed, which turned out to be the main hybrid battery. Another $4,800 to get replaced. I don't see whats so money saving about that. Unable to afford the cost of that last repair, I now own a 2001 Prius that runs for about 2 miles before the warning light and computer system stop the car.
The economic problems that I encountered are primarily this last diagnosis on the car, I'm unable to afford the 4,800 dollar repair bill, thus leaving me without a reliable form of transportation, on top of that, I still owe roughly 5,000 dollars on the car itself. Of course all this happens the day I quit my job and start back to school.
Martha of New York NY (06/01/07)
visit #1 test drove yaris and prius. selected prius. visit #2 visited with partner to get a better prius price. given a good price. visit #3 partner test drove prius. memorial day. liked dark gray. phoned day and a half later to request gray prius. told we should have left a deposit, b/c it had sold. we had not been asked to leave a deposit. with gray car gone, we were told that only one white car was available and that they could get it here soon. we were told to come in to see the white prius on friday, b/c thurs was dealer's day off. #4 phoned around on thursday for a gray prius and found one in Jersey City, NJ (Hudson). courteously phoned new york dealer to ask if they knew about this car & might rather order it for us. after taking the information and promising to call right back, the new york dealer never phoned back. #5 traveled to new jersey on thursday. test drove and bought the dark grey prius, package #2. loved the car. #6 discovered a defect in hood. with considerable difficulty, we returned the car. #7 as agreed, i phoned the dealer in new york on friday morning, to remind dealer of our planned visit. (shouldn't the dealer be phoning us?) the dealer said that he had the white prius, package 2, grey interior for us to see, as planned. we arrived and we were shown a white prius with a an ugly beige interior. we were told nothing about the grey interior that he'd promised. we were told nothing about the grey car i'd asked about. then, we were given a run around. the two salesmen disappeared leaving us with a long wait. #8 in the meanwhile, we find that the white car with a gray interior had been sold to another person the day before. on the day that our dealer said was his day off. the car that he had brought in for us was sold. we were not told this by dealer, but rather, by the guy who was buying the car. #9 one of the salesmen returned with an offer to order a package # 1 prius for us. surely by now he should know that we were looking for package #2. frustrated, we explained that we were tired of waiting and told the dealer to phone us with relevant information, once they completed their homework. The above, brief overview of our experience does not reflect the countless hours we have spent at the toyota offices. We have several reasons to believe that the dealers were not forthright. This makes Toyota seem like a company that encourages poor buisness ethics. Our experience would indicate that the pejorative jokes about car dealers appear to be accurate.
Bernadette of Fresno CA (05/31/07)
Purchased new Prius in 2004. Within a few months the multi function display did not work with the result of unable to get gas into car while driving! Very dangerous. Two weeks ago the display began to do strange things but this time I recognized it when the radio kept turning off and the display kept saying odd things. DIsplay has to be replaced again.
Car is under extended warranty. I am told that I will pay $85.00 for diagnostic fee so they could tell me the display does not work and rental for 5 days only is paid. I waited for the first 5 days over a weekend and am still waiting for the car to be fixed due to inability to get the parts which is exactly what happened before with a differnet dealer.
Nicole of Tualatin OR (05/29/07)
2007 Prius 1400 miles. Saturday: Car completely dead. Does not respond to smart key. Prior to it's failure heard 4 odd honks. Used manual key and attempted to turn power on. Power came on briefly and then died. Called Toyota dealership and was told I would speak to someone immediately. Left a message for service/sales? manager. Heard nothing. Called next day in am and was told to have it towed. Tow truck personel had to put prius on dollies as there is no way to put it in neutral as electical system controls all. Was concerned about jump starting due to odd configuartion of battery. Called today stating that I needed to be to work and I have no car. Was hoping they would help me with a loaner or a fixed Prius. The Prius was fixed. All it needed was to have the accessory battery charged and it was my fault as I left the right rear door ajar. I always engage the alarm I told them and I saw no dome light on. I am not at fault. They are making me pay the 136.00 towing bill as I am the person that left the rear door open (which I did not). I am refusing to pay and I am going up the chain to complain as this aforementioned dealership was not helpful.
Peter of North Hills CA (05/25/07)
Los Angeles Time, Thursday, May 24, 2007 I read an add for Frontier Toyota and it says Prius $19,998 2 to choose (77086916, 77087952) I call talk to a new car sales person Diego his name, he kindly said let me check, after chequing, said yes we still have 2 of them, great I will be their to buy one at 8PM. As soon as I hung up I call Garo, my brother in-law he wants one to, as I was driving to the dealership which is 1.15 min. away, my friend David calls and he wants one to.
I call Diego he apologizes and says I have to leave but Lucas will take care of you and I am sure we can accommodate 3 of them, and he gives me his cell phone. Still driving Diego calls me back and says we sold one and only one left make sure you come in as soon as possible and talk to Lucas, I pick up My ant Bernadette and Get their at 7.10pm and we see a bunch of sells reps fighting, ask for Lucas, Lucas is not available but Miguel will help you, so I told him what I need 3 Priuses and I understand you have one at that price so let me get that if it is still available and get the other 2 later for a little bit more it is O.K. he says let me check, he checks it and he says we still have it let me get it for you, so we wait and wait he comes in and says I can not find the car, so he goes and looks for it again, and again and again another manager helps him out, they can not find the car.
I ask him is Lucas back he says yes but he does not know what is all this about,. After 1 and ½ hour waiting, they still can not find the car, Lucas never introduced himself although I saw him a Chinese looking person passing by me wearing a tag with Lucas on it, Miguel says 5 porters are looking for the car and the car can not be located, maybe it is stolen or on a test drive, I go a test drive for 1 ½ hours? I call Diego on his cell, he says let me talk too them, Why are they playing games with you, I said I don’t know, they take many cell phone talk to Diego 3 times no results. No coffee offer No Water to drink, just standing outside waiting, finally I said this is ridiculous if you guys are playing a game let me know, if not Let me pay for the car and I will pick it up tomorrow and lets see the other 2 we need, No NO we will find the car.
I get upset and after 2 hours I walk in asking for a manager, afcorse 10 managers they have, the head manager is not available. Sorry we can not find the car, a Toyota Dealer can not find a car? What kind of dealer ship you guys are running, with an angry voice I snap back? A Suited gentlemen shows up and says SALAM ALEKOM in Arabic I said no Salem or anything What Kind of Dealer are you representing TOYOTA, he gets upset and say get out we don’t want to sell you any Car so I leave, What an aggravations, what a waist of time to lose a customer like me buying 3 cars at a time, would I buy a Toyota again? Not if the Dealers are horrible with their customers like that
Zhirair of Glendale CA (05/24/07)
I have a 2004 prius, i have been having a monitor problem, it wont work properly. I have told Toyota about it and there response is at this time we cannot help you with anything the problem that iam having is an well know problem, there is an tsb out on it from Toyota witch tells the dealer how to repair the problem but only if the car is under factory warranty, my car has 49k miles on it its out of warranty, but that shouldn't hold Toyota from fixing the car when they know this models have this problem and they Even have an tsb on it, i think they should extend the warranty on it or recall the part.
Danny of San Antonio TX (05/23/07)
Our 2003 Toyota Prius has 91000 miles on it. When we went to start it the dashboard lit up with multiple warning lights. The dealer picked it up and said that the transmission went out and it would cost $6000 to fix and it was out of warranty. When we explained to the dealer and to Toyota customer relations that the transmission was part of the Hybrid Power train covered for 5 years and 100000 mi they refused to cover it. Not even a partial coverage. This considering the car was working fine when it was last shut off.
As a result of this we do not have a vehicle which is part of our daily life. This is putting a severe hardship on our activities and necessary transportation needs.
Ron of Grants Pass OR (05/23/07)
I was advised to buy a Prius for the tax credit, since I made money, over what we usually have, by working in New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina. I bought an '06 which was to be a $3192 tax credit. Toyota hadn't authorized the credit for the '07 at the time. They did so the next day, our tax person called me, and I ordered an '07. It turned out that we were to get the half credit for the '07, or about $1,596. At tax time I was notified that we would be taxed using the AMT (alternative minimum tax) rate, effectively doing away with the credits. We got a total of $476. for both cars. My question is, how can the US Government encourage people to buy clean emission cars by offering a tax credit, then reneging on the deal? I'm told by a CPA friend that if Congress doesn't do something about it, the AMT will effect approximately 20 million people in '08.
Eduardo of Hayward CA (05/23/07)
I bought a 2007 Prius on 11/25/2006, as a weekend commute vehicle, dishing out $39,000 for the car, leather seats and service. I had my eyes focused on the car window ad announcing 60 city mpg and 51 highway mpg. I thought that I will be saving gas money to pay for my $600 monthly car payment.
The best mileage I got is 41, based on the Trip Information meter. The more common reading is only 39 mpg. In the first week of owning the car, I already called the service department to complain about this. The answer is that the EPA mileage benchmarks are ideal????? I am disappointed with the mileage performance of Prius.What recourse do we have against Toyota???
Jim of Stoughton WI (06/08/07)
In response to your negative article and just to relate my experience with my 2002 Prius, bought new and now with 48K miles on odometer, yes, there have been a few items repaired under warranty. But, what car doesn't get some of those? And, I firmly believe this has been the best car I have ever owned, and there have been many of those. It's a delight to drive, and my average MPG is around 48 in warm weather and 40-42 during wintertime. I very much love my little Prius. It's a great car with a wonderful design and ingenious technology. Toyota has been very supportive to address any concerns I have ever had with my car.
Kimberly of Winfield AL (06/08/07)
I put a five hundred dollar deposit down for the to order prius. He emailed me at 7pm and said they might have found a prius for me but they would have to see if they could take the toyoguard and floor mats off. He stated he would call me the next day around lunch and tell me if they could get it. I emailed him that night and said do not order the car. I called him early the next day and left a message do not order the car. He called me and said he was keeping my 500.00 because I had signed the paper and given him my debit card number. I asked him if he had told his manager and they agreed to keep my money even though they had not ordered the car and he said, yes.
.
Zachary of Homeland CA (06/07/07)
Giving into all the hype, when I went looking for a new car, I decided to go with the money-saving, eco-friendly Prius. I bought it used, 3 years ago. It had 72,000 miles on it, and ran great. For the first year that is. When it came time for the 100,000 mile tuneup, that cost me nearly $700. 6 months later, the computer system fails, along with a transmission leak, and fuel pump replacement. Costing me another $2600.
10 months after that, the car starts acting up again, and I take it down and get it diagnosed, which turned out to be the main hybrid battery. Another $4,800 to get replaced. I don't see whats so money saving about that. Unable to afford the cost of that last repair, I now own a 2001 Prius that runs for about 2 miles before the warning light and computer system stop the car.
The economic problems that I encountered are primarily this last diagnosis on the car, I'm unable to afford the 4,800 dollar repair bill, thus leaving me without a reliable form of transportation, on top of that, I still owe roughly 5,000 dollars on the car itself. Of course all this happens the day I quit my job and start back to school.
Martha of New York NY (06/01/07)
visit #1 test drove yaris and prius. selected prius. visit #2 visited with partner to get a better prius price. given a good price. visit #3 partner test drove prius. memorial day. liked dark gray. phoned day and a half later to request gray prius. told we should have left a deposit, b/c it had sold. we had not been asked to leave a deposit. with gray car gone, we were told that only one white car was available and that they could get it here soon. we were told to come in to see the white prius on friday, b/c thurs was dealer's day off. #4 phoned around on thursday for a gray prius and found one in Jersey City, NJ (Hudson). courteously phoned new york dealer to ask if they knew about this car & might rather order it for us. after taking the information and promising to call right back, the new york dealer never phoned back. #5 traveled to new jersey on thursday. test drove and bought the dark grey prius, package #2. loved the car. #6 discovered a defect in hood. with considerable difficulty, we returned the car. #7 as agreed, i phoned the dealer in new york on friday morning, to remind dealer of our planned visit. (shouldn't the dealer be phoning us?) the dealer said that he had the white prius, package 2, grey interior for us to see, as planned. we arrived and we were shown a white prius with a an ugly beige interior. we were told nothing about the grey interior that he'd promised. we were told nothing about the grey car i'd asked about. then, we were given a run around. the two salesmen disappeared leaving us with a long wait. #8 in the meanwhile, we find that the white car with a gray interior had been sold to another person the day before. on the day that our dealer said was his day off. the car that he had brought in for us was sold. we were not told this by dealer, but rather, by the guy who was buying the car. #9 one of the salesmen returned with an offer to order a package # 1 prius for us. surely by now he should know that we were looking for package #2. frustrated, we explained that we were tired of waiting and told the dealer to phone us with relevant information, once they completed their homework. The above, brief overview of our experience does not reflect the countless hours we have spent at the toyota offices. We have several reasons to believe that the dealers were not forthright. This makes Toyota seem like a company that encourages poor buisness ethics. Our experience would indicate that the pejorative jokes about car dealers appear to be accurate.
Bernadette of Fresno CA (05/31/07)
Purchased new Prius in 2004. Within a few months the multi function display did not work with the result of unable to get gas into car while driving! Very dangerous. Two weeks ago the display began to do strange things but this time I recognized it when the radio kept turning off and the display kept saying odd things. DIsplay has to be replaced again.
Car is under extended warranty. I am told that I will pay $85.00 for diagnostic fee so they could tell me the display does not work and rental for 5 days only is paid. I waited for the first 5 days over a weekend and am still waiting for the car to be fixed due to inability to get the parts which is exactly what happened before with a differnet dealer.
Nicole of Tualatin OR (05/29/07)
2007 Prius 1400 miles. Saturday: Car completely dead. Does not respond to smart key. Prior to it's failure heard 4 odd honks. Used manual key and attempted to turn power on. Power came on briefly and then died. Called Toyota dealership and was told I would speak to someone immediately. Left a message for service/sales? manager. Heard nothing. Called next day in am and was told to have it towed. Tow truck personel had to put prius on dollies as there is no way to put it in neutral as electical system controls all. Was concerned about jump starting due to odd configuartion of battery. Called today stating that I needed to be to work and I have no car. Was hoping they would help me with a loaner or a fixed Prius. The Prius was fixed. All it needed was to have the accessory battery charged and it was my fault as I left the right rear door ajar. I always engage the alarm I told them and I saw no dome light on. I am not at fault. They are making me pay the 136.00 towing bill as I am the person that left the rear door open (which I did not). I am refusing to pay and I am going up the chain to complain as this aforementioned dealership was not helpful.
Peter of North Hills CA (05/25/07)
Los Angeles Time, Thursday, May 24, 2007 I read an add for Frontier Toyota and it says Prius $19,998 2 to choose (77086916, 77087952) I call talk to a new car sales person Diego his name, he kindly said let me check, after chequing, said yes we still have 2 of them, great I will be their to buy one at 8PM. As soon as I hung up I call Garo, my brother in-law he wants one to, as I was driving to the dealership which is 1.15 min. away, my friend David calls and he wants one to.
I call Diego he apologizes and says I have to leave but Lucas will take care of you and I am sure we can accommodate 3 of them, and he gives me his cell phone. Still driving Diego calls me back and says we sold one and only one left make sure you come in as soon as possible and talk to Lucas, I pick up My ant Bernadette and Get their at 7.10pm and we see a bunch of sells reps fighting, ask for Lucas, Lucas is not available but Miguel will help you, so I told him what I need 3 Priuses and I understand you have one at that price so let me get that if it is still available and get the other 2 later for a little bit more it is O.K. he says let me check, he checks it and he says we still have it let me get it for you, so we wait and wait he comes in and says I can not find the car, so he goes and looks for it again, and again and again another manager helps him out, they can not find the car.
I ask him is Lucas back he says yes but he does not know what is all this about,. After 1 and ½ hour waiting, they still can not find the car, Lucas never introduced himself although I saw him a Chinese looking person passing by me wearing a tag with Lucas on it, Miguel says 5 porters are looking for the car and the car can not be located, maybe it is stolen or on a test drive, I go a test drive for 1 ½ hours? I call Diego on his cell, he says let me talk too them, Why are they playing games with you, I said I don’t know, they take many cell phone talk to Diego 3 times no results. No coffee offer No Water to drink, just standing outside waiting, finally I said this is ridiculous if you guys are playing a game let me know, if not Let me pay for the car and I will pick it up tomorrow and lets see the other 2 we need, No NO we will find the car.
I get upset and after 2 hours I walk in asking for a manager, afcorse 10 managers they have, the head manager is not available. Sorry we can not find the car, a Toyota Dealer can not find a car? What kind of dealer ship you guys are running, with an angry voice I snap back? A Suited gentlemen shows up and says SALAM ALEKOM in Arabic I said no Salem or anything What Kind of Dealer are you representing TOYOTA, he gets upset and say get out we don’t want to sell you any Car so I leave, What an aggravations, what a waist of time to lose a customer like me buying 3 cars at a time, would I buy a Toyota again? Not if the Dealers are horrible with their customers like that
Zhirair of Glendale CA (05/24/07)
I have a 2004 prius, i have been having a monitor problem, it wont work properly. I have told Toyota about it and there response is at this time we cannot help you with anything the problem that iam having is an well know problem, there is an tsb out on it from Toyota witch tells the dealer how to repair the problem but only if the car is under factory warranty, my car has 49k miles on it its out of warranty, but that shouldn't hold Toyota from fixing the car when they know this models have this problem and they Even have an tsb on it, i think they should extend the warranty on it or recall the part.
Danny of San Antonio TX (05/23/07)
Our 2003 Toyota Prius has 91000 miles on it. When we went to start it the dashboard lit up with multiple warning lights. The dealer picked it up and said that the transmission went out and it would cost $6000 to fix and it was out of warranty. When we explained to the dealer and to Toyota customer relations that the transmission was part of the Hybrid Power train covered for 5 years and 100000 mi they refused to cover it. Not even a partial coverage. This considering the car was working fine when it was last shut off.
As a result of this we do not have a vehicle which is part of our daily life. This is putting a severe hardship on our activities and necessary transportation needs.
Ron of Grants Pass OR (05/23/07)
I was advised to buy a Prius for the tax credit, since I made money, over what we usually have, by working in New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina. I bought an '06 which was to be a $3192 tax credit. Toyota hadn't authorized the credit for the '07 at the time. They did so the next day, our tax person called me, and I ordered an '07. It turned out that we were to get the half credit for the '07, or about $1,596. At tax time I was notified that we would be taxed using the AMT (alternative minimum tax) rate, effectively doing away with the credits. We got a total of $476. for both cars. My question is, how can the US Government encourage people to buy clean emission cars by offering a tax credit, then reneging on the deal? I'm told by a CPA friend that if Congress doesn't do something about it, the AMT will effect approximately 20 million people in '08.
Eduardo of Hayward CA (05/23/07)
I bought a 2007 Prius on 11/25/2006, as a weekend commute vehicle, dishing out $39,000 for the car, leather seats and service. I had my eyes focused on the car window ad announcing 60 city mpg and 51 highway mpg. I thought that I will be saving gas money to pay for my $600 monthly car payment.
The best mileage I got is 41, based on the Trip Information meter. The more common reading is only 39 mpg. In the first week of owning the car, I already called the service department to complain about this. The answer is that the EPA mileage benchmarks are ideal????? I am disappointed with the mileage performance of Prius.What recourse do we have against Toyota???
Guide created: 04/05/08
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